PIU Student Feature – IM Rusty Simon

IM Rusty Simon (The “I” is for his dad and the “M” for his mom) is a 23 year old, 4th year Biblical Studies student from Ta island, in the Mortlock Islands, Chuuk, FSM. His minor emphasis at PIU is Teaching English as a Second Language. Rusty works in the PIU “WeWork Program” as a data processor in the Institutional Effectiveness department. Last year he also worked on the classroom cleaning crew. Rusty is the Senior class representative in the PIU Student Council. He attends the Kingdom Seeker church where he helps Pastor Arnold lead the youth group.

This past summer Rusty was part of the “Impact Team” which was made up of short-term missionaries from  Germany, Switzerland, New Jersey and Palau led by Liebenzell missionaries Anne and Steve Stinnette. The team spent one month on Guam and helped with VBS at the Palauan Evangelical Church, youth ministry at the Ranch Christian Fellowship, did some much needed summer maintenance at PIU and visited several local churches. They then moved on to Palau and stayed there six weeks. They ran several VBS’s for Palauan churches in Koror, Anguar, Peleliu and Ngchesar, did hospital visits, led Sunday church services and helped with church cleaning. Rusty shared his testimony several times, worked with the youth groups, acted in the skits, got to know young people through sports ministry and went house to house inviting people to church and VBS (he was coordinator and MC for the VBS.)

His hardest job was to be the Micronesian cultural consultant for the American and European team members. He says, “we came from so very different cultures and backgrounds that we had to learn to understand each other before we could do ministry together.” “As a Micronesian I had to help the guys with cultural issues. They asked me lots of questions about how to do things and what to say.” The blessing in it was that as I was “paying attention to my team all the time, I got to learn some of their culture even though I have never been to the USA or Europe.”

Rusty recommends that his fellow students get involved in missions because “there is something different out there than here, there is something new there. I got to go out and do something important and experience something different.” The mission trip “shaped my life and now I can say that I am willing to serve and do ministry.” Rusty plans to go back to Anguar in Palau during Christmas break to continue ministry with the young people he met there. After graduation next year he plans to go back to the Mortlock islands and use his education in TESL to be a school teacher.